Gospel of the Week

 

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 5:1-11

They left everything and followed him.

Jesus was standing one day by the lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.

When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.

 

 Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

In the Gospel this week, Simon had been fishing all night with no success, then working from the early morning hours cleaning his nets. Most likely he was exhausted and looking forward to going home and getting some sleep. So, it must have seemed a bit of an imposition when Jesus got into Simon’s boat and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Nevertheless, Simon did what Jesus asked (5:1-3).

Luke does not tell us what Jesus taught the crowds that morning. The focus is on what follows. Jesus tells Simon to put out into the deep water and let down his nets for a catch. Simon obviously believes this will be a futile exercise. He is the professional fisherman, after all. We can almost hear

the exasperation in his voice when he responds, “Master, we have worked all night but have caught nothing.” But then he continues; “Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets” (5:4-5).

We know what happens next — nets so full of fish that they begin to break, boats so full of fish that they begin to sink. Seeing what is happening, Simon is overwhelmed with fear and wonder, sensing that he is in the presence of divine power. He responds by falling down at Jesus’ knees and begging him, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (5:6-8)

Simon is caught by surprise. Amid his ordinary daily grind, and in fact, after a particularly lousy night at work, he is encountered by one who changes everything. Amazed by the power of God displayed in the abundant catch of fish, Simon is immediately aware of his sinfulness and unworthiness. He sees the overwhelming disparity between God’s power manifest in Jesus and his own mortal, compromised life.

Jesus responds to Simon by saying, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (5:10). The Greek word for “catching” used here (zogron) is rare in the New Testament but means “to catch alive.” Of course, fishing with nets was a matter of catching fish alive, but those live fish would soon be dead. Here Jesus calls Simon and his partners to a new vocation of catching people so that they might live, a life-giving vocation of being caught up in God’s mission of salvation for all.

We have had a very hot beginning to the school term with temperatures reaching up to 37 degrees. All our classrooms have fully functioning air conditioners as well as our stadium. We have been checking the temperature each day and have been allowing the students to play between 11 and 11.30, however the second break at 1.30pm, we have chosen to keep them in the cool. Please ensure your child/ren have a full drink bottle at the beginning of the day and that they are wearing their summer uniforms. Please discourage your child from wearing any jackets or jumpers on these days of extreme heat.

Next Tuesday 11^th and Wednesday the 12^th February, we have our Parent Teacher Meetings. These are an excellent opportunity to meet with your child/ren’s teacher/s and to have a discussion around how the year has begun. These conversations are vital to the success of your child’s time at school. These meetings can be booked via the PAM up. Please see the steps below and/or contact the office if you have any questions.

God Bless

 Meg

ESOs and teachers

2025 Classes, Teachers and ESOs

 

YEAR LEVEL	NO. OF CH’N	TEACHER/S	ESOs
FGW	20	Geraldine Wilmann	Mel   Tania	Jen
FKG	20	Katherine Gronek
1AF	18	Amali Fernando	Nimali
1NC	18	Noleen Chalmers
2JM	22	Jacky Merrey	Terri
2WJ	23	Jen White Jayme Jamieson (Thurs/Fri)
3OG	21	Dez Orchard Emily M (Mon)	Cathy Richard
3RS	22	Rebecca Schleemann
4VR	23	Janelle Van der Veer Jake Richardson (Thurs)	Karina Nadine
4MR	25	Rosa Mitchell Jake Richardson (Mon, Fri)
5SA	17	Shiny Antony	Rupinder   Vanessa
5SM	17	Sarah McGill
5BC	17	Belinda Couch
6NB	26	Neesha Bateson	Paul    Sharon
6TA	26	Tresa Andrews Donna/Lisa (Friday)

 

Parent Helpers-Term 2

We will be running an induction for any parents who wish to help in the classroom early in Term 2. Please note, any parents wishing to assist in the classroom must have a Working with Children Check. It only needs to be a Volunteer one to assist in the classroom. The school will require a copy of this to keep in our files.

ATTENTION PARENTS: School Uniform

I am asking please that all students, to be wearing our proper school uniform. It is important that we maintain a high standard of uniform throughout the school year and to wear it with pride. I will continue to ask all students to be wearing proper school shoes and uniform right up until the end of the year. Runners are NOT school shoes. Please see pictures below. I understand that students are growing constantly, however they will continue to grow for many more years and so I cannot always accept this as an excuse.

We must remember that many students are adhering to the correct standards of school uniform and therefore, it is important that the students and their families please respect this. Secondary schools do not accept poor unform standards. If finance is a concern when it comes to uniform, please speak to your classroom teacher.

St Patrick’s has a very good second-hand uniform shop that you can top up your child’s uniform with. It is a third of the price you would pay at the normal uniform shop, and the money goes straight back to the school.

This is an example of a school shoe to be worn every day, except on sport days/events: